Music Ministries at St. Christopher’s is excited to present an Advent celebration of the works of composer G.F. Handel from his timeless oratorio, Messiah. Each of the four Sundays of Advent (Dec. 1, 8, 15, and 22), the Adult Choir and Boston-based soloists will offer music from the Advent portion of Messiah at the 10 a.m. Choral Eucharist. We kicked off this celebration by singing Hallelujah from Messiah on the last Sunday of this church year, Christ the King (November 24)!

Advent I (December 1)

Tenor Edward Ferrin will sing Comfort Ye and Ev’ry Valley.

Edward Ferran, tenor, is a Boston-based performer who recently graduated with a degree in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. This upcoming summer, he will join The Glimmerglass Festival as a Young Artist, covering Geraldo and singing Squinky in the premiere of The House on Mango Street. Previous roles include Nemoriono (L’elisir d’amore), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), King Kaspar (Amahl and the Night Visitors), and Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) in a scenes program. In summer 2024, he again joined the Charlottesville Opera as Nemorino (cover) in L’elisir d’amore and Marcellus Washburn in The Music Man. In 2023, he participated in the Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy, as well as joining Charlottesville Opera as an Ader Emerging Artist. In 2022, he debuted a spanish-language production of Haydn’s The Creation with the Kalamazoo Bach Festival (Kalamazoo Choral Arts) as well as joining the cast of the Ohio Light Opera’s 43rd season. In 2021 Edward appeared as chorus with the American Pops Orchestra in two specials for PBS.

Advent II (December 8)

The Adult Choir will sing And the Glory of the Lord, and baritone Juan Suarez will sing Thus Saith the Lord, But Who May Abide, For, Behold, Darkness, and The People that Walked in Darkness.

Juan Suarez, baritone, is an in-demand opera and ensemble singer in the Boston area, performing frequently with organizations such as Odyssey Opera, MassOpera, Opera Del West, Boston Opera & Zarzuela, and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. Most notably, he was recently selected to premiere a piece titled The Descent, in collaboration with poet Todd Hearon and Composer Jonathan Mitchell with Catalyst New Music in May 2024. Upcoming engagements include performances as bass soloist in Camille Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël and G.F Handel’s Messiah, and his role debut as Falke in Johann Strauss’ comic operetta, Die Fledermaus. Juan holds Music Degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and Stetson University.

Advent III (December 15)

Soprano Aurora Martin will sing Rejoice Greatly.

Aurora Martin, soprano, is known throughout New England for her colorful, full soprano. She is an ensemble member of Boston Baroque and collaborates regularly with Emmanuel Music, the Handel & Haydn Society, Odyssey Opera, The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra the Arlington-Belmont Chorale, Sounds of Stow, and MassOpera. Solo concert performances include Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, Mozart’s Requiem, Mass in C minor, and Coronation Mass, Mahler’s Das Knaben Wunderhorn, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Fauré’s Requiem, and Satie’s Socrates. Operatic highlights include Pamina, Micaëla, Dalila, Second Lady, Miss Silvertone, Noèmie, Liesgen, and Mieke. Aurora holds a MM from The New England Conservatory and degrees in Music and Chemistry from Virginia Tech.

Advent IV (December 22)

The Adult Choir will sing O Thou that Tellest, and countertenor Samuel Higgins will sing Behold, a Virgin Shall Conceive, O Thou that Tellest, Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind, and He Shall Feed His Flock.

Samuel Higgins, countertenor, is recognized nationally for his “innate musicality” and “complex understanding of music.” He is currently in his final year pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music studying under Julia Faulkner. A passionate interpreter of both early and new music since the age of 11, Sam has been asked to sing as a soloist with orchestras and opera companies including Opera Philadelphia, the Boston Symphony Pops, the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, Emmanuel Music, ChoralArts Philadelphia, and the New England Philharmonic, among many others. He is a passionate environmental advocate, commissioning the new work Deep Blue (for string quartet and countertenor) by Adrian Wong as a tribute to ocean conservationist Sylvia Earle. On the opera stage, Sam took on his first leading role as Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina at the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory in July of 2024. He returns to the opera stage at Curtis in November of 2024 leading the cast of The Comet/Poppea as Nero/Julia’s Father, following in the footsteps of Anthony Roth Costanzo. This thought-provoking piece examines race and humanity and is composed by George Lewis/Monteverdi. His 2024/25 Season began with The Comet/Poppea, followed by “Christmas at Emmanuel” with Emmanuel Music, where he will sing the countertenor solo in Evan Williams’ Little Mass for Christmas.